The Hunter's Lance
by Blackstaff
Summary: Malice's army is on the move, and Shadimir must journey with Alustriel to the world of Krynn to retrieve the dragonlance weapon. Can he return in time to stop Malice's dracolich?
1. Prologue

Elient 29 1372 DR, Year of Wild Magic

**Prologue**

Sitting in her lair, surrounded by green bushes and plants, Beryllinthranox's red eyes dimmed as she looked over her new skeleton body. Her massive bony frame had a red tint to it. Her huge claws were razor sharp, and her leathery wings were transparent and tattered. The body had once belonged to Naravala the Red, the Devil Dragon of Cormyr. Shortly after Naravala was slain by King Azoun IV, agents from the Cult of the Dragon searched for the Devil Dragon's corpse. Two months after Naravala's demise, the wizards finally recovered the body.

Though the body was a little bit smaller than the one she had when she was the Green Dragon Overlord of Qualinesti, but it would have to do for now.

Wearing her black scale armor, the drow cleric Malice walked quietly into the cave where Beryl had made her lair. The dark elf noticed the changes the dracolich's home. The cave was once dark and damp place, but now the walls and ceiling were covered by flush green plant life. "I see you've made yourself at home," Malice said quietly as she approached Beryl.

The dracolich turned her head to Malice. "It reminds me of the forests of Qualinesti," Beryl responded in a low growl. "Since I have arrived in this cave, vines, bushes, and other plants have been growing along the walls."

Malice grinned. She had summoned Beryl only three days ago, using a Summoning Circle, a King Tear's gem, and the instructions written in the Tome of the Dragon. I've been blessed by Kiaransalee, the drow cleric said to herself, as she looked over Beryl.

The dracolich stared at Malice for a moment. Though she had been brought back from the dead, a part of Beryl resented being summoned to life by the drow. She knew that she was now bound to Malice like a dog leashed to its master.

Yet Beryl had no desire to destroy the priestess of the Vengeful Banshee. The drow was ambitious, and knew much about the power of undeath. Malice had also promised Beryl that once they destroyed Menzoberranzen, they would go to the surface, and destroy the powers of the Silver Marshes. Together they would rule the lands from the High Forest to the Silver Marshes, and possibly the Sword Coast as well.

"So when do we attack Menzoberranzen?" Beryl asked curiously, trying to get Malice's attention. "Do we have to keep an eye out for that hunter you speaking of earlier?"

"Shadimir," Malice hissed as she crossed her arms. The dracolich noticed the drow's red eyes flare for a moment. "He will seek us out soon," Malice added in a calm voice. The silver rings on the dark elf's left hand began to glow faintly.

Confused, the dracolich tilted her head. "He will come to us?" she asked in a low voice.

Malice nodded. "He will. As we are speaking, a small force of undead are going to attack the cathedral where Shadimir's first born child is studying. Then there is also my renegade son Drizzt, who is going to have an unexpected visitor. You remember Graibec? The orc werewolf?"

Beryl let out a shudder that rattled her bones. She remembered Graibec as a burly orc (a type of humanoid creature she had never encountered before) who dressed in dirty, and torn clothes. He led a band of werewolves who prayed on the animals and people of the North.

"How did you manage Graibec and his werewolves want to go after your son?" the dracolich questioned Malice.

Malice played with one of the rings on her fingers. "Graibec is a son of King Obould Many-Arrows, one of the most powerful orcs of Fauern (which isn't saying much, Malice added in her own mind), and Drizzt has done battle with him. Graibec believes by killing Drizzt, and eating his heart, he can gain respect from his father."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," a sultry voice said from behind Malice. The dark elf turned and saw the vampire Bella Foust standing there, wearing a long black dress with miniature skulls embroidered in the seams. She had black hair and pale skin.

"Not at all Bella," Malice answered. "We were just discussing Graibec fighting my son Drizzt."

Bella let out a snort. "If Drizzt is as good as a fighter as you say he is Malice, I don't think the werewolf has a chance to beat your son. You should have me fight him."

The drow cleric shook her head. "You know that we've already discussed your next mission. Besides, I don't need Graibec to kill Drizzt. I have heard from a couple of my spies that Shadimir has already sent his sister in law and her friends to aid Drizzt. Once he hears about the attack on the Soaring Spirit, he will send help for his daughter. He will be too distracted to stop us while we begin our attack on Menzoberranzen."

The dracolich let out a soft purr. Bella sighed. "I don't know why you didn't let me turn Shadimir into a vampire Malice."

"He is mine to kill Bella," Malice declared in a cold voice. "I get his body, and Kiaransalee gets his soul, but I'll be sure to save you some of his blood."

Bella bit her lip and looked at the green vines that hung from the ceiling. "Well on a different subject, the Cult agents and the other clerics have summoned up a legion of corpses for you for your fight against the drow city."

"Good," Malice said in a pleased voice. "The wizards and clerics have proved useful to me. Have them get the corpses ready to march soon, and then Bella, you and the other clerics and wizards must go into hiding."

"But why Malice?" the vampire asked with a note of concern in her voice.

The drow priestess stared into Bella's eyes. "Because my friend, if by some miracle Shadimir does foil my plot, and destroys both me and Beryl, someone must finish what I started."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Throwing her brown hair in a ponytail, Yondalla Deachron smiled and looked up at the large oak tree that was planted by the druids of Silvanus. This past month, the leaves had turned from light green to shades of red, orange, and yellow. The young half elf had just finished a hard morning of training with her mentor Danica Bonaduce, and was now enjoying a quiet and peaceful afternoon.

Dalla had been training at the Spirit Soaring cathedral for over a month. Under the tutelage of her mentor Danica, Dalla was learning the various styles of martial arts.

But while Danica was teaching Dalla the finer points of throwing a punch or a kick, she also made sure that the half elf spent plenty of her time playing with the other children who lived at the cathedral. Though she was having a wonderful time at the cathedral, Dalla missed her family back in Silverymoon. She especially missed her younger siblings, who have probably grown a few inches by now.

Dalla sighed as she walked past the tree. She then saw a minotaur wearing brown leather pants and a white cotton shirt approaching her.

"Good day Yondalla," greeted the minotaur named Galdin Redhoof in his deep voice. The minotaur's fur was dark brown, and his eyes were light green. His horns extended towards the sky. Small scars could be seen all over the his arms and hands.

Danica's student smiled at the bull-man. When she first arrived at the Spirit Soaring, Danica's husband Cadderly had taught Dalla how to read people's lips so that Danica wouldn't always have to use sign language with her all the time. 'Good day to you Galdin,' she signed with her fingers. She then looked into the distance, seeing two slender men wearing green cloaks walking towards her and Galdin. When her eyes got a better look, Dalla recognized them as elves from the forest of Shilmistra.

Galdin turned and looked at the elves. "Can I help you gentlemen?" the minotaur asked as the elves approached.

The two elves stared at Galdin for a moment. Then, the shorter of the two elves spoke in his soft voice," Our scouts have reports of skeletons and zombies approaching the area. Also, we saw six skeletons were following us here."

The minotaur looked down the path where the elves came from and saw the six large skeletons the elves spoke of. He turned to Dalla and ordered," Get back inside the cathedral and tell Cadderly we're under attack." The half elf girl turned back, but instead of going back to the Spirit Soaring, she reached down and grabbed a bo staff that was lying on the ground.

Galdin ran up to two of the skeletons, avoiding their great swords as they swung towards his head and chest. He shot his right hand forward, punching one of the skeletons hard in the midsection. The bull-man then did side kick that shattered the skeleton's rib cage. The second skeleton made a fierce stab that landed deeply in the minotaur's stomach.

Galdin let out a soft growl as blood spilled from his wound. The skeleton held his blade high, ready to slice the minotaur's neck. Dalla quickly stepped next to the minotaur and swung her bo stick low, breaking the skeleton's kneecap. Grateful that the girl bought him some time, Galdin quickly drove his left fist into the skeleton's jaw.

The two elves who came from the forest, were fighting two skeletons of their own. The other two large skeletons ran towards Dalla and Galdin. The student glanced to see Galdin holding his stomach. She swung her bo staff high, knocking off the head of one of the skeletons. Dalla continued to keep on her guard. One thing her father Shadimir had told her about fighting undead, _Just because you cut off their head, doesn't mean their dead for good_, her father's voice echoed in her mind. _Except for vampires that is._

Dalla placed herself between the skeletons and the wounded Galdin. Then she noticed a beautiful woman appear behind the two skeletons.

The woman had a messy mop of strawberry blonde hair and almond eyes. She grabbed both the skeleton's heads and them hard against each other. She then jumped in the air and delivered a hard roundhouse kick in the headless skeleton's pelvis, shattering the bones upon impact.

Dalla smiled at her teacher Danica, and drove the end of her staff into the other skeleton's chest, breaking the ribs of the undead creature.

Danica Bonaduce smiled at her student. "Not bad Dalla," she said softly with look of pride on her face, The teacher then looked over her shoulder, seeing the two elves, now dead on the ground, and a mixed group of zombies and skeletons walking towards them. She noticed that their faces were looking towards Dalla.

Danica assumed a fighting stance, which Dalla imitated. Danica's husband Cadderly then emerged from inside the cathedral. Standing six feet, he ran his hands through his thick curly brown hair. His grey eyes scanned the area, counting how many undead there were.

The priest of Denier reached into his white silk clerical robes and drew out his holy symbol. He then began singing the Song of Denier, channeling his energy into his holy symbol.

A bright light flashed from Cadderly's holy symbol, and the twelve zombies and skeletons closest to Danica, fell lifeless to the ground. He continued the Song of Denier in his mind, ready to turn the rest of the undead. Just as the cleric of Denier was about to release his energy, three large fireballs shot down from the sky.

The fireballs rained down, engulfing the zombies and skeletons in magical fire.

From where she stood, Dalla watched as more fireballs fell from the heavens, consuming the undead. She scanned the air, and then spotted a woman hovering near a tall maple tree. The woman was beautiful, and had long silver hair. Her robes were purple and torn in places. Dalla smiled and waved at the woman in the air. Cadderly also recognized the woman. She was the Simbul, the Witch Queen of Aglarond, and one of the Seven Sisters.

Dalla and Shadimir both had told Cadderly that the Simbul was a self appointed guardian of his wife's student.

The cleric of Denier watched as the Simbul waved to Dalla, then vanished. He then looked over at Dalla, who was still holding on to the bo staff. Galdin was wounded, but Cadderly knew the minotaur would quickly seek healing. Danica was now walking over to the two dead elves.

Cadderly sighed and began walking over towards Dalla. He told himself that after he buried the elves and healed Galdin's wound, he would write a letter to Shadimir.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Early in the evening, the sound of crying could be heard coming from the outside of Shadimir's house. The silver haired undead hunter was holding his daughter Andreya, who had just burned herself by sticking her hand in the fireplace. Thankfully, the flames had barely touched her hand before she pulled away.

"Shh, its all right Andreya," Shadimir whispered to his crying daughter. With tears running down her face, Andreya buried her head in his chest. Shadimir could feel her tears wet the front of his cotton shirt. He sighed, stroking her blond hair.

As Andreya began to calm down, Shadimir looked over, and saw Jepetto sitting at the door. "Will she be all right?" the deep gnome asked, huddling himself in his long coat. The hunter noted the look of concern on the gnome's face.

"Yes she will be," Shadimir answered after he kissed his daughter's cheek. "She and Jacen both at the age when they have to see and feel everything they can get their hands on. Yesterday, Stephanie caught Jacen trying to gnaw on Alustriel's pendant. You know, the one that can turn your hand into a sword if you wear it."

Jepetto let out a sigh of relief while Andreya closed her eyes. The deep gnome straightened his coat and looked at Shadimir. "What do you think Malice is up to?" he asked.

Shadimir shrugged. He had been asking himself the same question for the past few days. He remembered their first meeting, when she told him that her greatest ambition was to create a dracolich and destroy the drow city of Menzoberranzen. After his encounter with the dark elf cleric of Kiaransalee, Shadimir had sent Aliyah, Deidra, and Ophila to warn Drizzt DoUrden, who Malice had sworn revenge against.

While Malice was possibly building her army during these last few days, Shadimir and his wife Stephanie were playing hosts to Giogi and Cat Wyvernspur, who had been marveling at the sites Silverymoon had to offer. Not only that, but while her palace guards were away, Alustriel, the High of Silverymoon was staying at Shadimir and Stephanie's house. Alustriel had wanted to go back to the palace, but Stephanie insisted (more like demanded) that Alustriel stay with them until her guards return.

"I'm not sure what Malice is doing?" the undead hunter answered," but I'm not going to worry about it for right now. I'll wait until Malice attacks. In the meantime, I think I'll put a bed in the study.

Jepetto nodded, then stood up and walked into the house. Holding his daughter in his arms, Shadimir followed the svirfneblin inside.

When he entered the living room, Shadimir saw Giogi Wyvernspur and his wife Cat playing a game of chess. Stephanie and Alustriel were watching Jacen play with the snow tiger Elros. As the hunter looked around the living room, his wife turned her hazel eyes to him and asked," Will she be all right?"

Shadimir nodded. Andreya looked over at her mother and Alustriel with an embarrassed expression on her face. The silver haired hunter quickly handed Andreya over to Stephanie. Wearing a pair of leather breeches similar to Shadimir's and a dark blue silk shirt, the priestess of Kelemvor smiled at her little girl, who began trying to reach for her mother's loose strands of raven black hair.

Alustriel looked up at Shadimir. She wore a dark blue cotton dress and her hair was done up in a tight ponytail. "We need to have a talk in the study Shadimir," she said softly.

The undead hunter nodded. He and Alustriel left the living room and entered the study. Stephanie watched them go, then looked at Andreya.

As they entered the study together, Shadimir asked," So what's going on?"

Alustriel took a deep breath. "There have been reports of Cultists going around Fauern, digging up graves and gathering corpses." Shadimir was about to remark about how Cult of the Dragon members were always digging up corpses, when Alustriel added," There is also a rumor that an army of undead is marching towards Menzoberranzen. They say that a dracolich is leading them. We both know that Malice has gathered her forces.

A jolt of fear shot through Shadimir's body. He nodded his head and closed his eyes. "So she actually did it. Do you think it might be Naravala the Red?"

The High Lady of Silverymoon shook her head. "While you, the twins, and the Wyvernspurs were sleeping last night, Stephanie spoke to Kelemvor and asked the same question. Kelemvor assured her that the Devil Dragon's spirit now rests in the Abyss. Though he did tell her that a god from another world came to him, and told him that one of his souls escaped and is active in Fauern."

The hunter crossed his arms, while Alustriel continued. "Nevertheless, I know of a way we can defeat Malice and her dracolich. We must go to Krynn and retrieve the dragonlances. from my friend Juniper Shanklebee."

"Dragonlances?" Shadimir asked once he opened his eyes. "You mean like in the Huma story? But I thought that was all fiction?"

"The dragonlances are real," Alustriel assured him. "I've been to the world of Krynn before. I've even fought in the War of the Lance."

The hunter looked at Alustriel, then glanced into the living room. "What about Stephanie, Jepetto, and the others?"

Alustriel placed a hand on Shadimir's shoulder. "They will be fine. I've contacted an old friend of ours, who is coming to help. You'll have to leave Elros behind though when we journey into Krynn A white tiger with blue stripes might raise a few suspicions."

Shadimir nodded, then stepped back as Stephanie walked into the study. The doomguide of Kelemvor held a small letter in her hand. "Its from Cadderly," Stephanie said in a soft voice. The undead hunter saw the look of worry on his wife's face, then gently took the letter and unfolded it.

_Shadimir:_

_A small force of undead just attacked the cathedral today. Dalla is fine, but one of the scholars was wounded, and two elves from the forest were killed. I'm pleased to tell you that your daughter stood up and acted bravely. Many scholars and priests around the temple have started calling her the Silent Defender. In the end, it was the Simbul who finished the undead. I summoned a demon from the abyss and asked why the undead had attacked the cathedral. The demon told me it was a priestess named Malice. I'll write more to let you know things are going._

_- Cadderly Bonaduce_

_Priest in the Order of Denier_

_Postscript: Dalla wanted me to tell you personally that she is doing fine._

Guilt washed over Shadimir. He didn't need Cadderly to summon up a demon to know that it was Malice who had sent the attack at the Spirit Soaring. Part of him felt responsible for Malice sending the undead. He hoped Drizzt would have the same success in surviving Malice's trap as Dalla did, though instead of having one of the Seven Sisters to help him, the drow ranger from Mithral Hall would be getting a druid, a halfling, and one of the best (not to mention reckless and stubborn) fighters in the Silver Marshes.

Yet the undead hunter couldn't help but feel proud of his daughter. Only being eight winters old, Dalla had already fought her first battle. He hoped to speak with her about it once she came home for the Yuletide holiday.

Feeling Stephanie's arms around him, Shadimir made a silent vow. He would confront and defeat Malice and her dracolich, or die trying.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was late in the evening when Aliyah, Deidra, and Ophila arrived at the gates of Mithral Hall. They were greeted by two dwarven guards, who quickly went inside to alert Drizzt of the visitors.

Aliyah brushed back her blond hair. "I can't wait to get home and get into a nice bath," she said with a smile. She looked over at her halfling friend, who placed the Obsidian Steed figurines back in her pocket.

"I told Shadimir these steeds would be a good investment," the halfling said with a smile, and then tied up her brown hair in a bun.

Ophila, an olive skinned elf, stretched out her arms and legs. "The night air is beautiful," she said in her angelic voice. She then turned at the structure of Mithral Hall. "That's impressive," she said after a low whistle.

Aliyah nodded, her hazel colored right eye looking at the entrance to the dwarven keep. Her left eye, which was magical, moved back and forth, scanning the area. "I wish we could stay here for a little while, instead of just leaving after we check up on Drizzt. The people of this place are nice, and homely...well except for one."

"You mean Catti-brie?" Deidra asked, referring to the adopted daughter of King Bruenor Battlehammer. "She probably isn't too fond of you after the fight you two had."

"What fight?" Ophila asked, holding her maul.

The blond haired ranger shook her head. "She started it." She turned to Ophila and sighed. "After Shadimir and my sister's wedding, I brought Drizzt home. I kissed him on the cheek, and she just happened to see it. She then walked up to me and slapped me across the face. I slapped her back, and next thing I know, we're rolling on the ground, pummeling each other. I managed to get out of it without a scratch."

Aliyah stopped talking, her left eye spotted movement at a corner, near the entrance of Mithral Hall. "Ladies, it looks like this discussion is no longer private.

Ophila and Deidra watched as Aliyah drew her scimitars and walked over to where she spotted the movement. They heard blond haired ranger's left eye zip left, and watched as she extended her scimitar forward. "Good evening Drizzt. We were just talking about you."

Drizzt DoUrden, a dark elf ranger, stepped forward from the shadows and into the small space of light provided by magical torch that hung from the ceiling. His lavender eyes stared at Aliyah. The chain mail he wore beneath his green cloak began to rattle as he reached for his own pair of scimitars. "From what I heard, you were talking about your fight with Catti-brie. You failed to mention that you separated her shoulder, gave her a black eye, and then punched me in the face when I tried to pull you off of her."

Aliyah rolled both of her eyes. " I did say I was sorry after I hit you." She smiled at the drow, who flashed a smile of his own. "Shadimir sent us here to make sure you were doing all right," she said in a polite voice.

Drizzt looked over at the elf who stood next to the halfling. Never seeing her before, he wondered who the she was. Looking at the hide armor she wore over her body, he guessed she was a either ranger, or a druid. Drizzt then heard Aliyah's words. "Help?" he asked. "Help with what?"

Several loud growls came from behind them. Aliyah turned, seeing seven werewolves walking towards her and her friends. The burly werewolf in front, looked directly over at Drizzt. "Drizzit DoUrden, your mother sends her regards," he growled. "She wishes she could be here for your demise, but I, Graibec, son of Obould, will now destroy you!"

Drizzt drew both of his scimitars while Deidra drew her daggers. Aliyah, who had already had her weapons drawn, moved up to a stout brown haired werewolf and stabbed both of her blades deeply into the werewolf's chest. She pulled out her scimitars, and watched as the werewolf fell dead to the ground. Another werewolf came up from behind Aliyah and bit her hard in the forearm.

Aliyah cursed as she felt the werewolf's teeth rip into her flesh. She quickly pulled her arm away, then let out a scream of rage as she swung the scimitar in her right hand across the werewolf's neck. The sharp blade sliced through the creature, causing his head to fall off of his body.

A few feet away from Aliyah, the halfling sidestepped a werewolf's claw attack, and then countered it with a hard slash with her daggers across the werewolf's midsection. She then made a quick lunge and drove the tips of her daggers into the werewolf's gut.

The werewolf growled and attempted to rake his claws across Deidra's neck. The halfling blocked the werewolf's right claw, but his left claw scratched hard across her lips. In retaliation, Deidra snapped her left hand forward. Her dagger's sharp tip, plunged deeply into the throat of the werewolf.

Ophila bashed her maul across the head of one of two female werewolves, crushing her skull. Brushing back her raven black hair, the elven druid channeled her energy to summon an ally.

Two werewolves, one of them female, and the other male, noticed a large white haired ram materialize in front of the elf. The female werewolf growled to scare the ram, but the animal answered the growl with a fierce head butt into the werewolf's chest. Behind the ram, Ophila channeled the power of nature to cast her Thorn Spray spell.

After the ram attacked the werewolf, he stepped to the side and watched as thorns shot out from the druid's arms. Dozens of thorns hit the necks of both of werewolves, leaving them gasping for air until they hit the ground.

A few feet away from where Ophila had summoned the ram, Drizzt and Graibec were dueling.

Drizzt parried the werewolf's sharp claws with his scimitars. He then stabbed his scimitar named Twinkle into Graibec's side. Graibec quickly raked Drizzt hard across the chest, then bit him hard on the shoulder.

The drow ranger began to feel sick. He placed Twinkle back in its sheath, and grabbed his shoulder. "The lycanthrope disease will work into your system Drizzt DoUrden," the werewolf said with glee. He was ready to attack Drizzt once more, but then he felt a sharp pain in his back. The werewolf turned to see Aliyah standing there with a wicked look in her eye.

"I should kill your father for spawning a pitiful creature such as yourself," the blond haired ranger spat. Graibec raised his claws to rip through the arrogant woman's flesh, but Aliyah's hands moved with lightning speed. She made a hard slash with her scimitars across the werewolf's neck. Graibec let out a soft gasp before his head fell from his shoulders.

When Graibec's headless body fell to the ground, Aliyah stepped next to Drizzt. "I could have handled him," the drow ranger said with a growl. He then looked at Aliyah with pain in his eyes.

"I know," she answered. "But you need to get to a healer and get some Wolfsbane Tea to stop the lycanthrope from affecting you."

The drow ranger nodded, then stared at her forearm. "How come you're not affected?"

The blond haired ranger shook her head. "I've been bitten by werewolves many times, and have developed a strong resistance to the disease. You'll be fine once you drink the tea."

Drizzt nodded, and began to walk towards Mithral Hall. He then turned to Aliyah. "Graibec said that my mother sent him. Is this true?"

Aliyah sighed, trying to hurry the drow along. "Once you get some tea, we'll talk."

The drow ranger nodded once more, cursing himself for not bringing with companion Guenhwyvar. Aliyah watched as Drizzt went back into Mithral Hall, then turned to Ophila and Deidra.

Deidra was cutting off the heads of the dead werewolves while Ophila was feeding the white haired ram she had summoned. A moment later, the ram faded away. The druid's eyes looked up at Aliyah. "We're leaving now?"

Aliyah nodded. "Yes. Its too dangerous to take Drizzt with us. The Wolfsbane Tea will cure him, but he is going to have a stomach sickness for a couple of days."

The halfling smiled as she reached into her pocket and drew the magical obsidian figurines. "Right, and the last thing I want to hear as we ride into the night, is a drow vomiting on the road."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning, Stephanie woke up with a loud yawn. She looked over on Shadimir's bed and let out a sigh. It was empty.

The doomguide remembered that Shadimir and Alustriel had left shortly after the twins went to bed. She quickly out of bed, threw on a pair of leather pants and one of Shadimir's long sleeved shirts, then walked over to the room across the hall where Jacen and Andreya were still sleeping. Stephanie smiled, then looked into the room next to the twin's. In there, she found Cat and Giogi asleep on the floor. The room belonged to Dalla, who Stephanie hoped was safe.

When she reached downstairs, Stephanie found Jepetto sitting in a chair, playing with a set of puzzle rings. Elros was sleeping sound fully on the floor. "Did you stay up all right trying to solve this?" the doomguide asked the gnome.

Jepetto shook his head. "When Shadimir and Alustriel left, and everyone else went to bed, I found these puzzle rings in my coat pocket. It only took me an hour to solve them. After that, I put them back together and went to sleep. I just woke up about an hour ago."

Stephanie smiled, then heard some soft growls coming from Elros. "I hope Shadimir is all right," she said softly.

The svirfneblin nodded. "So do I," he said with a sigh. Jepetto placed the puzzle rings on the chair, then stretched out his arms.

A soft knock came from the door. Stephanie looked at Jepetto, wondering who it could be. The doomguide walked over and opened the door, seeing saw a tall woman with blue hair and sapphire eyes on the other side of the doorway. She wore silver plate armor with a blue tabard over the front. On the front of the tabard was the symbol of the god Helm.

It took Stephanie a moment to recognize the woman. Tara, its been a long time." The priestess of Kelemvor embraced Tara. "You've become a warrior of Helm."

Taralona, who was actually a blue dragon who worshipped the god Helm, smiled at Stephanie, then looked at Jepetto. "It has been a long time my friends. Alustriel has told me everything."

Stephanie nodded. "Yeah, we're in quite the predicament Taralona. Shadimir and Alustriel are in another world to find a weapon called a Dragonlance."

Tara stared at Stephanie, wondering what a Dragonlance was. The Helmite smiled. "Well, whatever the peril, I will stand by your side."

Wearing their green colored Cloaks of Elvenkind, Shadimir and Alustriel arrived in the world of Krynn the night before. They walked through the fields of Ansalon until they arrived in the small town of Solace.

The few people of Solace who were still awake during the late hours, stared at the undead hunter and the High Lady as they walked through the town. Shadimir noted the different kinds of people he saw. There were elves, dwarves, and humans. There were even a few minotaurs. Once race that Alustriel told him about were kender, a child-like race of Krynn, that stood about as tall as halflings, but were as slender as elves. Alustriel told Shadimir to keep an eye on his belt, because kender were a race of people, who had a problem for "borrowing" people's possessions without even realizing it. Then there was another race of humanoids the hunter saw that had never seen before. They appeared to look like dragons, yet they walked and talked like humans. Alustriel had called them draconians.

For the night, Alustriel and Shadimir rented rooms at an inn named the Inn of the Last Home. The next morning when he went down for breakfast, the inn's proprietor, Laura Majere approached the table Shadimir was sitting at, and asked him how he liked Solace so far.

"Its interesting," was Shadimir's only reply as he watched Alustriel walk down the stairs and sit next to him. Shadimir admired the structure of the inn and watched as the other patrons enjoyed their plates of spiced potatoes.

When Laura went back into the kitchen to grab a plate of potatoes for Shadimir, the undead hunter glanced at Alustriel, who was trying to find her friend.

"Alustriel, it is you," a child-like voice said from the doorway. Shadimir looked at the door, seeing a small kender woman wearing a white cotton dress. If it wasn't for the streaks of grey in the kender's red hair, the hunter would have mistaken her for a little elven girl.

"Juniper Shanklebee," greeted Alustriel as she walked over to the kender woman and gave her a warm hug. After Alustriel let go, Shadimir noticed the High Lady's pendant was now in the kender's hands.

Alustriel looked at the kender with a sly smile. "Oh no, I've seem to have lost my pendant."

Juniper turned to her friend and handed her back the pendant. "Good thing I found this Alustriel. Did you come here for the dragonlance? I always thought you would."

"Yes, do you still have them at your house?" Alustriel asked, tossing a wink at Shadimir.

The kender nodded. "I only have two of them now. My daughter Roxilandra has taken the third one to Palanthus. Why did you need them?"

Alustriel turned to Shadimir. She brought the kender over to their table, and ordered a plate of spiced potatoes. There, Shadimir and Alustriel told Juniper why they needed the dragonlances.

After Shadimir finished telling Juniper about his situation, the kender took him and Alustriel to her house. Juniper had become curious about what a dracolich was, and how it was created. "These dracoliches sure sound powerful, but I think you can defeat them," she commented in her innocent voice. The hunter raised an eyebrow. Alustriel had told him that the kender were known to be fearless and optimistic. He wondered how one would view Fauern and all of it's dangers.

Juniper's small house was located behind the Tomb of the Last Heroes, a burial site where some of Krynn's greatest heroes now rested. It was actually a medium sized wooden cottage with two windows and two bedrooms, along with a living room and a kitchen. The walls and roof were made of strong oak wood.

As they approached the cottage, Juniper had told Shadimir that after the War of the Lance, she had taught at a bard college in Ergoth, then moved to Solace when her daughter Roxi was born. "Roxi and I used to visit the Tomb of Last Heroes all the time. Now she travels with her friends, making her own adventures." When they entered the cottage, the kender then went into another story about the War of the Lance.

Before she could finish her story, Alustriel interrupted Juniper and asked her to get the dragonlances. When the kender left the room, Shadimir noticed several paintings along the walls. Each picture either depicted a beautiful scenery, a person, or a great battle.. One picture that caught Shadimir's eye, was a beautiful oil painting of an elven woman in plate armor riding a silver dragon. The elven woman carried a silver lance in her arms.

"Kender are normally talkative," Alustriel remarked softly," but I think Juniper is especially excited because she has company. With her daughter grown up, she doesn't have many people to talk to."

Shadimir stared at the paintings. "Did she do these?" he asked curiously.

Alustriel nodded. "Juniper is a very skilled painter. She is an artist like you."

The undead hunter blushed, then heard the kender shriek from the other room. Shadimir placed his hands on his belt, holding the handles of his weapons; his light mace and Gabriel, his bastard sword. "Alustriel. Shadimir," Juniper called out. "You need to come and see this."

The High Lady of Silverymoon and the hunter walked into the next room. There were several more paintings hung up on the walls. They saw Juniper holding two heavy lances. The lances were made of steel, and they both radiated a white glow. Standing across from Juniper was the ghost of a beautiful elven woman wearing armor. It took Shadimir a moment to realize that this elven woman was the same one he saw in the painting in the living room.

The ghost's eyes stared at Shadimir. "Who are you?" Shadimir asked, keeping a tight grip on his weapons.

"I am Laurana Kanan, the Golden General," the ghost answered. Holding a sword in her right hand, Laurana sized up the hunter. "So you're Shadimir? Then you must know about Beryl."

"Beryl?" Shadimir asked confused. "Who is Beryl?"

Laurana stared at him. Her ghostly eyes made Shadimir feel uncomfortable. "Beryllinthranox was once the Green Dragon Overlord of Qualinesti. During the War of Souls, my warriors and I defeated Beryl, yet we were also killed in the battle. There have been rumors that Beryl's soul is now active and under the service of a priestess. It is said that she has become an undead creature."

"So you think this Beryl is the dracolich?" Shadimir asked Laurana.

The ghost of Laurana Kanan lowered her sword. "I don't know what a dracolich is, but yes. My warriors and I have been charged to bring her soul back to the afterlife. I offer myself, and my warriors to aid you in your fight."

Shadimir didn't know what to think. He detested necromancers who used the souls of the dead to do their bidding, yet here was a soul of a beautiful elven woman, offering to help him. He wanted to say no, but the silver haired hunter had a feeling that he would need any help he could gather. "It would be an honor to fight by your side," Shadimir answered. "How do we get you and your men to my world?"

The Golden General reached to her side, then handed Shadimir a silver horn. "Blow this horn, and the warriors of Qualinesti will come out and fight by your side." Laurana's ghost looked at Shadimir one last time, then faded away. Shadimir looked at the horn, then placed it under his arm. In his mind, he thanked the gods of both Fauern and Krynn for Laurana's, Alustriel's and Juniper's help.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Aliyah, Deidra, and Ophila walked down the trail next to the River Surbin. The druid kept her eyes open, wondering if they would encounter any fiends sent by Malice.

Holding her scimitars, Aliyah looked back at the trail that had led them to Mithral Hall. She felt bad for leaving Drizzt behind, but she knew that if anything had happened to the dark elf ranger on their journey, she would have never been able to forgive herself. The blond ranger then looked up, her left eye staring at the trees.

"Something the matter?" Deidra asked her friend after a moment of silence passed.

Aliyah's magical eye spotted several shapes moving in the trees. "Nothing, just people moving in the trees. Hopefully they won't fall and break their backs."

Deidra also looked up in the trees. She saw one of the shapes holding a long bow. "It looks like we are in the company of archers."

"Those aren't just any archers," Ophila remarked as she looked up. "Those are Emerald Enclave archers."

The moment the druid's words left her mouth, a man jumped down from the trees. He was a tall and handsome young man, wearing studded leather armor and a dark green cloak. His hair was light brown and his eyes were violet. Aliyah's magical eye noticed the man's ears were slanted. She would have guessed him to be an elf, except that he had a thin brown goatee on his face.

"Ophila, I was getting worried about you," the half elf said in a tenor voice.

The druidess smiled. "It is good to see you too Cedric." She looked over at Aliyah and Deidra. "Aliyah, Deidra, this is Cedric Milstar. Cedric, this is Aliyah and Deidra. They will be joining the Enclave soon."

The half elf smiled. "Let me be the first to welcome you into the Emerald Enclave. My scouts and I noticed you three coming from Mithral Hall. We were wondering where you ladies were heading."

Deidra giggled. Aliyah smiled at Cedric and replied," We are going to fight a dracolich and her mad creator who has sworn to kill my sister's husband."

Another moment of silence passed between them.

"Well then seeing as you two will be members soon, we will help you," Cedric declared with a wide smile. Several archers jumped down from the trees. Cedric looked at Aliyah. "Do you know where the dracolich will strike?"

"Possibly in the Underdark," she answered. She was about to tell Cedric that they should leave right away, but then she saw a beautiful white unicorn appear several feet away from where she stood. The unicorn stared at Aliyah, then began walking in the east direction.

The blond ranger watched the beautiful creature. "We have to follow the unicorn," she said in a soft voice.

With that, Aliyah began to follow the white haired unicorn, and others quickly followed.

After having some lunch, Shadimir and Alustriel said goodbye to Juniper. The kender had cooked roast chicken and taters, which Shadimir had gotten the recipe for while Alustriel was casting her Gate spell. Juniper gave Alustriel and Shadimir each a hug, then handed the undead hunter the dragonlances and the silver horn.

Just as they were about to enter the portal that would take them back to Fauern, Shadimir and Alustriel noticed their cloaks were missing. They looked over at Juniper, who was holding the cloaks in her arms.

"Juniper, I see you found our cloaks," Alustriel said with a smile, throwing a another wink Shadimir's way.

The kender smiled back. "I was going to wash them before you left, but that's all right."

Shadimir laughed softly as Juniper handed him back his cloak. He knew that the kender must have absent mindedly taken the cloaks, just as she did earlier with Alustriel's pendant. The one thing Alustriel had told Shadimir was that you never called kender thieves. Calling a kender a thief was like offering a minotaur a large steak for dinner, or telling a filthy dwarven barbarian to take a bath. You just didn't do it.

With his cloak, the dragonlances, and the silver horn in his hand, Shadimir passed through the portal.

The priestess of Kelemvor and Cat Wyvernspur were playing with the twins when a circular hoop materialized at the doorway. Shadimir stepped from inside the hoop, carrying two heavy lances, a horn, and his cloak. Jacen and Andreya saw their father and smiled happily. Ten seconds later, Alustriel stepped from the portal and quickly brushed her hair.

"I take it the trip was successful," Stephanie said, standing up. She walked over to Shadimir and studied the lances in his arms.

"It was," Shadimir answered. The hunter looked down, and noticed Jacen standing next to him. The little boy tried to reach for one of the lances, but Shadimir held them high in the air, out of the child's reach. Jacen made a little squeal, then sat back down.

"We have the dragonlances," Alustriel said with a smile. "Now there is just one last thing. Are Tara and Giogi around?"

Running her hand through her curly reddish blond hair. "I think they are in the study with Jepetto."

"Tara?" Shadimir asked. "She's here?"

"That I am Shadimir," the blue haired woman answered, emerging from within the study. Taralona smiled at Shadimir, holding one of the wooden dragon figurines he had carved.

Giogi and Jepetto stood behind Tara. "Did someone call me?" Giogi asked, brushing back his brown hair.

"I did," replied Alustriel. "Did you bring the Wyvern's Spur with you?"

Giogi nodded. He reached into the pocket of his surcoat and drew out what looked like a mummified wyvern's spur. "Did you need it for something Alustriel?"

The High Lady of Silverymoon smiled at Giogi. "We do Giogi. We need to use the Wyvern's Spur and transform to help Shadimir defeat Malice and her dracolich.

"I've never fought a dracolich before," Giogi stated, a look of concern growing on his face. He had heard of the undead dragons from his uncle. He looked over at Cat. "Do you think I stand a chance love?"

Cat smiled at her husband and walked up to him. She had remembered many years ago when they first met. Giogi had used the spur and transformed to defeat the wizard Flattery. "Darling, you and I both know you can do anything. Even if you do get hurt or perish, they will speak of how you died bravely."

Giogi smiled and kissed his wife lovingly. he then turned to Shadimir. "Do you want me to transform now?"

Shadimir shook his head. "No that's fine," the hunter responded, fearing for safety and the condition of his home. "You can wait until the battle." Shadimir looked at the twins, wondering who would watch them while he, and he others were at the battle.

As if reading the undead hunter's mind, Cat looked at Shadimir, and said," I'll watch Jacen and Andreya."

"Thank you Cat," Shadimir responded with a smile. He handed the lances to Alustriel, and bent down and hugged his children. For a moment, he pictured that he was holding Dalla. He then let them go and looked at Stephanie.

Elros and Jepetto walked over to Shadimir. "Do you want us to stay here?" the deep gnome asked. The snow tiger looked at his master with innocent eyes.

Shadimir shook his head and patted the snow tiger on his head. "Of course not. Jepetto, you're my closest friend, and Elros, you're my animal companion." The snow tiger smiled and licked his master's hand.

Stephanie bent down, and held the twins, then kissed their small cheeks. She silently prayed to Kelemvor to watch over them.

As a cleric of the Lord of the Dead, Stephanie understood that death was not the end of life, but rather a new beginning. If she died in battle, Stephanie knew that she would always watch over her children.

"So, how are we going to find Malice?" Jepetto asked, staring curiously at the dragonlances.

Shadimir shrugged, wondering the same thing. Alustriel smiled and answered," We start looking in the Underdark. With any luck, Malice will find us."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The hundreds of undead, comprised of ghouls, skeletons, and zombies, marched through the dark and mysterious terrain of the underdark. Standing side by side with the dracolich, Malice looked back at her undead army, then stared forward. Before the day is over, her army would be at the gates of Menzoberranzen. Then she would attack.

Malice looked up at the dracolich, who appeared to be staring at something. "What do you see Beryl?" she asked.

"I see four humans, a black skinned gnome, a white tiger, and a blue dragon," the dracolich answered in a low voice.

"It can not be," Malice muttered under breath. The drow then looked into the distance, her elven eyes spotting Shadimir, Alustriel, Stephanie, and a man she had never seen before. The blue dragon Beryl had spoke of, was letting Stephanie climb onto her back.

"What are you up to Shadimir?" Malice whispered under her breath.

Shadimir quickly handed Stephanie one of the dragonlances, then he turned to Giogi. "You can transform now."

Giogi nodded and closed his eyes. He clutched the Wyvern's Spur in his right hand and concentrated. A soft red glow radiated from the spur, and suddenly, Giogi's appearance changed from a human, to that of a red-scaled wyvern.

Shadimir climbed on Giogi's back, and then heard the sound of marching. He looked in the direction where the sound was coming from and saw the dracolich. Malice was walking next to the creature, and her undead army was marching behind them.

The undead hunter took a deep breath and slowly reached for the silver horn. He stared at the dracolich for a moment, estimating that it was at least twice the size of Elisondar.

"That's a big dracolich," Jepetto remarked, pulling out a wand and his steel club.

"Yes, and it appears they've brought some friends," Shadimir remarked with a nod. "Elros, I want you to stay close to Jepetto and Alustriel." Elros gave the hunter a reassuring nod.

Alustriel drew her unicorn headed staff, then looked at Shadimir. "We'll be fine."

The silver haired hunter looked at his wife. "I'll go and meet her. When I blow the horn and the elves appear, I'll need you to fly as quick as you can."

The doomguide gave her husband a smile, then watched as the red wyvern leaped off of the ground, carrying Shadimir on his back.

From where she stood, Malice watched as Shadimir flew over to her. She noticed the lance in his arms and smirked. Beryl's eyes noticed the heavy lance as well. The dracolich's eyes flared in anger. Flashes of her defeat by the elves of Qualinesti entered the dracolich's memory. The Golden General had slain her with the dragonlance, and now it appeared that Shadimir had one.

Beryl wondered how Shadimir could have acquired the weapon. Even so, the dracolich thought to herself, he is only one man.

"Malice," Shadimir said in a somewhat cold voice once he landed in front of her "I offer you one chance to turn your forces back. Otherwise, you and your army will be destroyed."

The drow cleric kept her eyes on Shadimir. "I knew you'd come Shadimir. Although I'm not sure how you would know that I would choose this time to attack Menzoberranzen. I only hope that your death will be slow and painful, just like Dalla's."

Anger and rage boiled inside Shadimir's chest. He tightly gripped the shaft of the dragonlance and glared at Malice. "Actually, Dalla is doing just fine. Now turn your army away."

Malice shook her head and sighed. "I was hoping to destroy you after I was done with Menzoberranzen, but I guess I'll just finish you now. By what means were you going to destroy me anyways?"

"By means of this," Shadimir whispered. He put the mouthpiece of the silver horn up to his mouth and blew hard.

At the sound of the horn's harmonious tune, Stephanie and Tara took off. Alustriel, Jepetto, and Elros watched as hundreds of ghosts appeared next to Shadimir. They were all dressed in elven armor, and carrying long swords. Laurana Kanan, the Golden General, appeared in front of Shadimir. She let out a fierce elven war cry and charged the undead behind Malice and the dracolich. Her soldiers quickly followed.

Malice quickly vanished, while Beryl jumped in the air. The dracolich let out a loud roar that caused Shadimir and Giogi to become shaken.

The hunter shook off any feeling of fear that was building in his stomach, then patted Giogi's head. Above them, the dracolich was ready to unleash her green fire on them, but the doomguide arrived just in time to help her husband.

Stephanie began to flow with the grace of her god Kelemvor. The doomguide channeled her energy and cast a Searing Light spell. A ray of bright light shot from Stephanie's open palm and hit the dracolich.

Shaking off the damage the cleric's spell had done to her, Beryllinthranox snapped her head up, looking at the doomguide and the blue dragon as they flew closer to her. She released a blast of green fire, but the blue dragon rolled away fast enough to avoid the dracolich's flame..

Giogi flew closer to Beryl. Once the wyvern was close enough, the hunter leapt off of Giogi's back and onto Beryl's. Shadimir raised the dragonlance high and struck it hard into the dracolich's back twice.

The dracolich let out a loud roar, feeling the jolts of pain that shooting through her body. She began to rock and move her body in an attempt to throw Shadimir off. The hunter proved stubborn as he grabbed one of Beryl's red tinted backbones and held tightly. Once she stopped rocking, Shadimir held the dragonlance high once more. He was about to strike, but the dracolich's bony tail snapped back and hit him hard across the back, dropping him to a knee.

Giogi charged the dracolich, but Beryl's tail moved swiftly, slapping the wyvern hard across the face. The red-scaled wyvern reeled back from the dracolich's tail swipe, but Beryl's left claw raked him hard across the chest.

Taralona flew head on at Beryl, while Stephanie sat on her back, her dragonlance pointed forward. Using one of her abilities granted to her by Kelemvor, Stephanie "bonded" the dragonlance with the abilities of Kelemvor's weapon, Fatal Touch. The dragonlance now possessed the same abilities that the bastard sword of Kelemvor possessed.

When Taralona was close enough toe the dracolich, Stephanie struck Beryl hard in the side, not once, but twice.

The dracolich let out a terrible scream that sent shivers through the skins not only those who were fighting her, but also Alustriel, Jepetto, and Elros; who were now fighting the undead alongside the ghosts of Qualinesti.

Shadimir could feel the soreness in his back as he stood up on the dracolich. He raised the dragonlance once more, then stabbed it into Beryl's back. He then jumped off the dracolich's back.

In a movement of swiftness, Giogi managed to catch Shadimir on his back.

But neither he, nor the hunter saw Beryl's enormous mouth open. Green fire shot from the dracolich's mouth and burned both Shadimir and Giogi.

Stephanie and Tara both watched as the wyvern and his rider fall to the ground. Then Beryl's right claw came up and struck Tara in her right leg.

The doomguide closed her eyes and held onto the Tara's back as she let out a shriek of pain. The blue dragon slowly fell from the air, crushing a few skeletons when she hit the ground.

Still on the dragon's back, Stephanie quickly channeled some of her god's energy to heal Tara. She then stepped off of the blue dragon watching as Tara rolled to her side and shifted to her human form.

Above the fallen blue dragon and the cleric, Beyrllinthranox let out a mighty laugh.

Despite the wounds she had sustained so far. The dracolich knew that victory was not too far away.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Silver fire shot from Alustriel's fingers, engulfing two zombies and two ghouls in magical flames. She quickly looked to her left, seeing Jepetto and Elros both fighting skeletons. All around them, the ghosts of Qualinesti elves continued their successful fight against the undead.

The High Lady of Silverymoon was ready to destroy more Malice's walking corpses, when in the back, she saw Aliyah and Deidra fighting two ghouls. Behind them was Ophila, who released a barrage of thorns on a large zombie.

The sounds of arrows zipping through the air filled Alustriel's ears. She looked over her shoulder and saw four ghouls and two zombies fall to the ground.

"The archers are way n the back," Aliyah yelled once her eyes spotted Alustriel. "Don't worry Alustriel. Ophila told me that they rarely miss."

Alustriel was just about to make a comment, when a ghostly voice called out," Lady Alustriel. Shadimir and Stephanie went down. We have to help them." The High Lady of Silverymoon watched as Laurana and some of her elven warriors charge towards the dracolich.

Looking in the direction where the Golden General and her soldiers ran, Alustriel saw Stephanie carrying Tara's injured human body to Shadimir, who was pouring a potion down the wyvern's throat. Alustriel raised her staff high and raced to help her friends.

When he finished giving Giogi the healing potion, Shadimir pulled another potion from his pocket and drank it. His body and chain armor had been burned by the dracolich's green fire. He quickly looked over at Stephanie, who was holding Tara. "Will she be all right?" he asked.

"Other than my broken leg, I'll be fine," Tara replied in a raspy voice as Stephanie set her down on the ground. The blue dragon whispered an apology in draconic as she vanished from the battle. Shadimir sighed, knowing that Tara wouldn't have left unless she absolutely had to.

"Now time to finish you off," Beryl growled as she slowly landed on the ground. Stephanie and Shadimir turned, seeing the dracolich's glowing eyes staring at them.

Both husband and wife stood over Giogi, ready to defend him with their lives.

With her feet on the ground, Beryl was ready to incinerate her enemies, but then she noticed five of the ghostly elven warriors charging her. The dracolich cursed in draconic and swept her tail forward, knocking all five of the elves away.

The elves quickly stood back up and once again charged Beryl. They were then joined by five more elves. The dracolich slashed her claws at the ghosts, but she only managed to knock two of them away.

More and more of the Qualinesti ghosts, including Laurana, charged Beryl. They quickly covered the dracolich's body, attacking her with their ghostly weapons.

Shadimir looked up, seeing Alustriel running towards them. "Some of the elves are attacking Beryl."

"The others are helping Aliyah, Deidra, and Ophila, who have just arrived. They brought some Emerald Enclave members with them," Alustriel responded. A loud explosion came from the distance, followed by a feral roar," and it looks like Jepetto and Elros are handling themselves well."

The undead hunter nodded, watching as twenty more elves climbed onto the dracolich. He then looked over to one of the walls, seeing a shape moving past the undead. It was Malice.

Malice stared back at Shadimir. She held up a tear dropped shaped gem, then pressed a spot on the wall. A small door opened and the drow priestess quickly slipped through it.

"Go after her Shadimir," Stephanie whispered into his ear. "Alustriel and I can handle it here."

Knowing the drow priestess was luring him into some sort of trap, the hunter turned to his wife and kissed her lips. "I love you darling," he said softly.

The doomguide smiled back. "I love you too." She then watched as Shadimir ran past the dracolich and the ghosts, and into the wall.

Stephanie drew her bastard sword Azrael and shouted the word," Lyonsbane." Blue fire shot from the hilt of the sword, and engulfed the blade in flames.

Stephanie charged Beryl, waving her fiery sword. She moved to an exposed spot and slashed the dracolich hard. Holding a dragonlance, Alustriel stepped next to Stephanie and drove the weapon hard into Beryl's side.

The dracolich let out a mighty wail that threw off all of the elves that were covering her body. Her bony head moved towards the doomguide and the High Lady of Silverymoon. She opened her massive jaw and blew her green fire at them. Stephanie was ready to be consumed by the flames, but Alustriel knocked the cleric out of the way.

From the ground, Stephanie's eyes widened in horror as the green flames wrapped around Alustriel's body. Standing up, The doomguide shook her head, praying to Kelemvor that Alustriel's wasn't dead. She then began to channel her energy, glowing with the grace of Kelemvor. Like she did before with the dragonlance, Stephanie was bonding the power of Kelemvor's weapon Fatal Touch with Azrael.

Beryl's eyes turned to see Stephanie waving her bastard sword. Stephanie leapt at the dracolich and swung Azrael hard, striking the undead dragon's jaw. She managed to avoided the dracolich's large body claws, then stepped left and made one last hard slash across her left claw.

The power from Stephanie's sword burned through the dracolich's body. "This wasn't meant to happen," Beryl screeched in a low voice her skeletal body fell to pieces. The dracolich's soul flew from her body and began to look for Malice, who held the item that her soul could fly into.

Watching Beryl's spirit hover in the air, Stephanie reached into her pocket and pulled out a black sapphire gem. She quickly began to cast a Soul Bind spell.

Beryl's spirit flew to one of the walls, continuing her search for Malice. She then began to feel her spirit being pulled towards the black sapphire the doomguide held in her hand. Beryllthranox gave one last scream as her soul flew into the gem.

Once Beryl's soul was trapped in the gem, Stephanie looked around, seeing Aliyah and the others finishing off the last of the undead.

"Well that was fun," Alustriel remarked as she brushed the soot off of her tattered dress, which had turned from a dark blue color to a dark grey. She noticed the gem in Stephanie's hand and smiled. "We best get this to Laurana."

Stephanie handed Alustriel the sapphire gem that now held Beryl's spirit. The doomguide then turned to the bones of the dracolich, and began to destroy them.

Shadimir followed Malice to a dark, square room. All over the walls were paintings and woven tapestries of spiders feeding on their prey. In the middle was a stone pedestal. Sitting on the top of the pedestal, was a small statue of a female drider.

"I've been here before," Shadimir whispered as he walked over to the statue.

"Yes, and now you'll die here," Malice declared, raising her left hand. The silver rings she wore on her fingers began to glow.

Shadimir placed his hands on his belt, ready to drawn them. Just as his fingers grazed the handles, he felt his bones beginning to stretch from inside of his body.

Intense pain shot through the undead hunter's body. It felt as if his skeleton was being pulled out of his body. Shadimir turned his head and let out a scream.

"Don't you dare turn away from me Shadimir Deachron," Malice yelled. "I want you to look at me when I kill you. I want to see the look in your eyes."

Shadimir struggled to regain control of his body. Using all of his willpower, Shadimir gained some control over his right hand. He slowly reached in his right hand onto his belt and pulled out a grey capsule.

Malice had eased her control on Shadimir's body, wondering what the hunter would do. She watched as Shadimir pulled out a small capsule, then make a rude gesture with his right hand. Before she could regain total control of his body, he threw the capsule on the ground.

The moment the capsule hit the ground, bright light engulfed the room. Blinded from the light, Malice lost control of the spell. The pain in Shadimir's body now stopped.

Free from Malice's powerful spell, Shadimir dashed forward and drew his sword Gabriel. In one fast moment, he drove his sword deeply into Malice's stomach, then pulled it out. Malice let out a painful cry, then drew her dagger from her belt. She opened her eyes and stabbed her blade forward at Shadimir's heart. The undead hunter dipped low just in time, causing the dagger to go deeply into his shoulder. He let out a growl as the blade pinched his nerves.

Malice withdrew her dagger from the hunter's shoulder. She stabbed forward once more, but missed.

With the pain in his shoulder, Shadimir dropped Gabriel on the ground. His left hand drew his light mace. He quickly slapped with his weapon hard across the drow's chest. Malice stabbed her dagger forward once more, but the undead hunter parried the dagger, then bashed his light mace across her face, knocking her to the floor.

Malice impacted with the floor hard. Her own dagger had been lodged into the lower left part of her stomach. Breathing hard, she looked up at Shadimir. "Go ahead Shadimir. Send me to my goddess."

Shadimir dropped his mace, and picked up Gabriel with his left hand. He stood over Malice, looking into her eyes. The blood from her wound slowly flowed onto the floor. His first impulse was to finish her.

Just kill her, his voice echoed in his mind. She had threatened to kill you. She zombies to attack Dalla. She even attacked her own son. She deserves to die.

But maybe she doesn't, he thought. If he killed Malice, would he be just like her. Would he then go after everyone who had threatened him in the past. Of course not, you're a man who forgives, Shadimir told himself.

"Maybe its time to forgive. Maybe it was time to show mercy," the undead hunter whispered under his breath.

Shadimir grabbed the King Tear's gem from Malice's pocket, then dropped the jewel on the ground and crushed it with his boot. He then looked up at the ceiling, seeing three large driders slowly descending towards him and Malice. "No Malice, I'm going to let these driders take care of you. Maybe they'll take you back to Menzoberranzen." Shadimir walked over to the statue of the female drider and picked it up. He then grabbed his light mace, and watched as the driders landed on the floor and begin to tie Malice in a sticky web.

The undead hunter then turned away and walked out of the room.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Four days had passed since Beryl was destroyed. Laurana and the Qualinesti elves had returned to the world of the dead, along with Beryl's spirit.

Once Shadimir and his companions arrived home, Giogi and Cat prepared for their leave. Giogi had thanked Shadimir for a grand adventure, and said that they should do it again sometime. Tara also managed to escape the battle, as she was sitting in the study when Shadimir and the others returned.

On that same day, Alustriel had quickly returned the dragonlances back to Juniper. Shadimir had told Alustriel to say hello for him.

Shadimir learned that the drow cleric of Kiaransalee was imprisoned at a small temple of Lolth on the outskirts of Menzoberranzen. The hunter wondered why the Lolth worshiping dark elves would keep Malice locked up instead of killing her. Part of him suspected that Malice had planned the drider capture and was biding her time.

On the eleventh day Marpenoth, Aliyah and Deidra left to join the Emerald Enclave. It was a tearful goodbye as Stephanie hugged her sister tightly, then hugged Deidra and Ophila. "You all take care of each other," she said with a smile.

Aliyah smiled at her sister. Stephanie was beginning to act more motherly with each passing ten-day. She then looked at Shadimir, who was holding a sleeping Jacen in his arms. "Good luck to you three," he said softly. Deidra walked up to Shadimir and hugged him tightly.

Ophila smiled back at Shadimir and hugged him gently. She then smiled, and scratched Elros's neck. The snow tiger, who was sitting next to a sleepy Andreya, smiled back at the druid.

After they said goodbye to the twins, Aliyah, Deidra, and Ophila walked away from Shadimir's house and began their journey.

Shadimir looked at Stephanie, who had tears in her eyes. He walked over and kissed his wife tenderly.

"Shadimir, these arrived at the shop today," yelled Jepetto as he came running towards the house. When got close enough to Stephanie and Shadimir, the deep gnome held in his hand open, revealing three small pins. Each pin was shaped like a rolled up scroll sealed with a round yellow moon. The pins were set in white enamel, rimmed with a circle of twelve blue-white stars.

"Those are Moonstar badges," Stephanie remarked, gently taking one of the badges.

"How observant to you Stephanie," a soft female voice announced. A beautiful woman with long silver hair appeared at the front door behind them. She wore a silk purple robe and had a silver circlet in her forehead. This woman bore a slight resemblance to Alustriel. "Only Moonstar agents are allowed to keep those."

"Moonstars?" Shadimir and Jepetto asked in unison. The doomguide looked up at the woman, recognizing her.

"Lareal Silverhand Arunsan, Lady Mage of Waterdeep," Stephanie greeted with a smile. "So with presenting us with these badges, you want us to join the Moonstars?"

Lareal shrugged. "You were offered to join the Harpers years ago, but you didn't accept. I told Khelben that you weren't interested, but he insisted I come and persuade you."

Stephanie shook her head. "I didn't want to join the Harpers because I didn't want special treatment from my father."

"Elminster didn't want you to join the Harpers just because you are his daughter and he wouldn't have given you special treatment. He wanted you to join because of your hard work and dedication. Still, he is proud of you. But enough of the old mage, let us discuss this over tea."

The doomguide kissed her husband's cheek, then gently took Jacen into her arms. Lareal smiled as she walked past Shadimir and picked up little Andreya. Together, she and Stephanie walked inside, holding each holding a twin in their arms.

Shadimir sighed and looked at Jepetto. "You are about ready to go inside?" he asked. Jepetto nodded, then walked inside the house.

The hunter was about to follow Jepetto, when he saw something move behind him. He turned to see Drizzt DoUrden standing there. The drow ranger smiled at him, but ebony skinned face wore an expression of exhaustion and worry.

"The guests just keep coming," Shadimir remarked. "What brings you here Drizzt?"

Drizzt walked up to Shadimir. "Well First I want to say thank you for sending Aliyah and the others to help me. I would have helped in the fight against the dracolich, but Aliyah had left so quickly. I also want to ask you something. The werewolf who attacked me. He spoke of Malice. My mother was named Malice."

Shadimir already knew where this conversation was going. He placed a hand on Drizzt's shoulder. "It's a long story my friend. Perhaps over a cup of tea we can discuss this."

The drow's stomach turned in knots at the thought of drinking more tea. "No thank you, I've had enough tea to last me for a month."

Shadimir quickly remembered Aliyah telling him that she told Drizzt to drink some Wolfsbane Tea after he got bit by the werewolf. Part of him felt guilty, because the undead hunter was the one who had first heard of the Wolfsbane Tea and told Aliyah and Deidra about it while they were in Sundabar.

The hunter led the drow inside and they quickly proceeded towards the study, passing Stephanie and Lareal, who were discussing about the Moonstar Organization, a band of renegade Harpers who used their knowledge of history and magic to prevent disaster in Fauern. Jepetto was reading a book on magical devises and Elros was watching over the twins as they slept on the floor next to their mother.

Once they were in the study, Shadimir and Drizzt sat down. Then, the hunter began the story…

**In memory of Sarah Jones, a wonderful teacher and a good friend**


	10. Authors Note

Author's Note:

One again, many of the characters, places, and things belong to Wizards of the Coast. I don't own anything, except for the characters, places, and things I made up myself.

Thus ends another chapter in Shadimir's life. I know some people are wondering why I didn't kill Malice. Like Shadimir, I couldn't bring myself to do it. In my opinion, she makes a good villain for Shadimir. In many ways they are opposites. I'll be honest, she will return in Shadimir's life, but for now she's "locked up." I want to apologize for anyone who was mad because I had Drizzt contract lycanthrope and get sick while everyone else was fighting. Nothing against the drow ranger, its just its hard to write someone in where there are already many characters in the story. With Aliyah, Deidra, and Ophila gone, Drizzt will be staying at Shadimir's house more. I doubt I'll be writing about any of Drizzt's other family members, thought I've thought about having Zaknafein as Jepetto's guardian angel.

I also realize that I broke some rules with the whole dracolich template, and some of the abilities it grants. For that I apologize. In gaming terms, Beryl is a CR 26 creature, and with the dracolich template, she becomes a CR 29. However, in gaming terms, Shadimir is a level 18 character, while Stephanie and Alustriel are epic level (not to mention the Chosen of Mystra template that Alustriel has, and the Chosen of Kelemvor template for Stephanie)


End file.
